Okay, so I may be the only one that doesn’t “get it”, but is M.I.A (and other artists like her… are there any?) serious? I wonder this, because her second CD was recently listed as the number one of the year by Rolling Stone magazine. Seriously? Have they heard it? Because every single thing I have heard from her is truly awful. When I first heard of her a couple of years ago, I seriously thought that it was a farce; I thought that she was doing an act, and sounding like shit was the punchline (or worse: is she making fun of the cultural music that she is so poorly imitating?). I am further convinced that it is all one big joke, by the amazing eye-raping that you get when you go to her website (don’t say I didn’t warn you. ouch!). What freaks me out the most, though, is that regardless of whether or not she is doing this seriously, is that people really see it is something great. I just don’t understand it. Am I missing something?
I wonder this, because my taste in music varies widely; I love folk, pop, rock, jazz, hip hop, dance, and to be quite frank, I would say that I can find something that I like in practically (not really much in the realm of rap) every genera of music. Sure, there is a lot of stuff out there that I don’t like, which is natural, and usually, I can see why someone else might like it, where I do not. That being said, rarely do I think to myself, “now how on earth could ANYONE listen to this, it’s awful!”, when I hear something. Usually, I just think, “well, that’s not for me; it sounds pretty bad to me“. On those rare instances where I do have the first thought, the accompanying music almost always comes from a completely obscure artist, and not from someone that would ever make a end of the year top albums list. Also, said artist that freaks me out by their awfulness, usually has no redeemable songs that would ever make me think otherwise; I try to give everything a chance, and sometimes, more than one chance.
Take LCD Soundsystem for instance. I LOVE that song Tribulations. It is fucking amazing. It blew my mind when I heard it, and I literally played it on repeat like 67 times in a row. However, the rest of the stuff that they have isn’t my cup of tea; in fact, to me, most of it is quite bad. Yet, they tend to be heralded in a similar way that M.I.A. is. However, the praise that is heaped on them makes more sense to me, because of the redemption that comes from that song Tribulations, because I can see the brilliance in it.
M.I.A. has no redemption for me; there is nothing that I have heard from her that could be considered good. In fact, there isn’t anything from her that I even consider to be serious; like I said, I sincerely think the whole thing is a farce. Yet, I know people that love her, and heap praise on her. I. Just. Don’t. Get. It.
Perhaps, one day, she will come out and say that this whole thing truly is a farce, and will get a big laugh at those that fell so hard for her. If that did happen, that could be my redemption for M.I.A. Until that time comes (which isn’t likely, because she is probably serious), I will still be standing here, scratching my head, wondering how in the hell people consider that good, let alone good music.
Are there any artists out there that make you scratch your head, wondering what in the hell other people hear, when all you hear is a complete offense on the eardrum? I can’t be alone in my thinking here. Thoughts?
Hey Duane I’m with you on this. I didn’t like her first album and have no desire to hear her other stuff.
Did you hear about the time she broke down on stage in the middle of a song? I can’t find the clip.
Musical taste is subjective. There are plenty of other artists that folks rave about that I don’t like either.
yeah, i do NOT get M.I.A. either.
I’m going to pretend like this entry does not exist. M.I.A. is theeeeee shit! Her second album wasn’t quite as great as her first but all the singles have been stand outs for sure.
Shan, you are more than welcome to love and adore her; I just don’t get it myself.
I had M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” recommended to me over and over. “You’ll like it!” “This is awesome.”
So I listened. Watched the “controversial” video. Admittedly, MTV did a stupid thing when they replaced the sampled gunshot percussion with a run-of-the-mill drum beat, so I’ll grant that. But the track didn’t do much for me.
Actually, what it did do was remind me a great deal of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “My Posse’s On Broadway” from his pre-fame album, Swass. Both songs have a similar back beat, about the same structure. Might have even both sampled the same Clash track. Now that was an awesome track for its time.
But back to M.I.A … with her, I just see somebody trying obviously to be cutting edge and succeeding with those critics that … well … are really wanting to praise anyone at all for being cutting edge. This is really just a sign that we’re sorely lacking in the true rebel department of rock & roll.
Thomas, I couldn’t agree more. And for the record, Paper Planes is the best thing I have heard from her; and I still didn’t like that song either.
I think that it is like those people that are all about the Indie scene just for the purpose of being about the scene; I don’t think even they like some of the music they are “all about”, because a lot of it is shit. But then again, people can be deluded, can’t they?
I think her music sucks also.
I’d rather listen to the John Tesh anthology than waste one minute of my life on M.I.A. - I don’t get the appeal either.
I don’t get MIA thing either and now we have MIA knockoffs coming out. Or maybe knockoff is to mean - but listen to Santogold and you’ll see what I mean.
What can one say? MIA is indie approved pop. She has the support of that community, which is quite powerful.
I love MIA but you have to be in the right frame of mind to listen to her… It’s just too noisy (do I sound like an old man now?)
I think her stock is high because she makes music that doesn’t sound like anything else. I’d guess that, like many innovators, her sound will be watered down and turned into something more commercial in the next two years or so. The person who can combine her global influences with a pop sensibility will make a killing, and MIA will be a footnote in musical history.
Probably.
As usual…I adore her for what she is…half retarded - once I accepted that, her music made more sense….and I for the record could shake my ass to “Galang” all day long…
mrdiscopop: I think that my problem, is that I really don’t take her seriously, because I sincerely think she is having a laugh at those that like hers expense. I have listened to many, many songs by her, and I haven’t heard anything that I like. However, you may be totally right; she may be some sort of visionary, but it is lost on me.
I’m with you once again, Duane. Her music is as annoying as her website. I think the other one I agreed with was Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah. Ugh.
Have a listen to this chick. I’m totally digging her right now and she doesn’t even have an album out. It’s a little weird but I like it:
http://www.myspace.com/mysoko